OPINION
Any hopes Aston Villa fans had of Jack Grealish making his comeback for today’s derby against West Brom have been knocked on the head.
Villa confirmed the playmaker, who has been sidelined since early December with a shin injury, is not yet ready to make his eagerly anticipated return from injury.
An update on the club’s official website revealed Grealish is “back running on grass again and could be involved at Stoke City next weekend” but the clash of the Midlands giants comes too early for him.
That is a major blow to Dean Smith’s side and a massive boost for West Brom as they aim to further distance themselves from their rivals in the promotion race.
Grealish is one of the outstanding players in the Championship, with the inventiveness and technical ability to wreak havoc and make life a misery for opponents.
Those who judge him on statistics alone claim he doesn’t score enough goals, or supply enough statistics. And, it’s true that the numbers don’t quite match the magnitude of the talent.
But Grealish is a matchwinner and a gamechanger, and it would have been such a boost to Villa if Smith had even been able to summon him from the substitute’s bench this afternoon.
The home side have their work cut out if they are not to slip further behind the pace setters at the top.
The claret and blues slipped to a late defeat at Brentford in midweek, which followed successive draws against Reading and Sheffield United, and can ill afford to being even more than the current seven points behind sixth position.
It is critical they secure all three points today, but the task of doing so has now significantly increased.